Night of the living Duelist
by KATTALNUVA
Summary: Yusei tells his friends the urban legend of Damian the Bad, a turbo duelist who went joyriding down to Hell. But little do they know that the legend is true. Inspired by Ghost Rider
1. An Urban Legend

It was a quiet night, just like any other night. Yusei Fudo and friends were gathered together to tell stories around the fire.

"This is the scary story about the legend of Cat Kong!" said Tank with a flashlight shining in his face "Half cat, half gorilla."

"That's not scary." said Rally.

"Quiet, I'm not finished… He also had… Two big batwings! A huge golden hook for a head! And two bright red eyes… made of wood!"

For a moment Yusei, Rally, Blitz, and Nervin just sat there picturing the creature described by Tank.

"How is that possible?" asked Rally.

"What do you mean?"

"Well for one thing, if his head was a golden hook, then how would he breathe? And how would he eat anything?"

"Uh… I don't know."

"That's not scary, that's stupid." said Blitz.

"Fine! You tell a story then!"

"I've got one." said Yusei "Have you guys ever heard… the legend of… Damian the Bad?"

"Who?"

"I'll take that as a no… Years ago in New Domino city… there was a turbo duelist… and not just any turbo duelist, the worst turbo duelist in the world. He was so horrible at turbo dueling that everyone called him Damian the Bad."

"What's so scary about a bad turbo duelist?"

"Quiet Tank!" said Rally "Yusei's not finished!"

"So anyway, one day Damian got sick and tired of losing all the time. He spent all his money building a deck that he thought would allow him to beat anyone, and he built it around the one monster that can beat anything… you know."

"No way…"

"He built it around Exodia the Forbidden One?!" exclaimed Rally.

"Yes…"

"Well… did it work?"

"At a prestigious week long Turbo Duel tournament he debuted his new deck. For the first time in his life Damian was on a roll. Day after day he and his new turbo Exodia deck just conquered the competition. And then during the final duel when he was about to draw the final piece of Exodia… it happened."

"What?"

"He lost control of his duel runner and crashed into a wall!"

Yusei paused for effect.

"Don't worry, he survived. But when he woke up in the hospital a week later he learned that since he had accidentally crashed his duel runner he lost the duel on a technicality. He went mad, because he couldn't win a tournament even with the Exodia deck he had spent all his hard earned money on. One day when his duel runner had been repaired he went joyriding… and no one ever saw him again."

"What happened to him?" asked Rally.

"Some say he rid his runner straight to… you know."

"Midtown?"

"Downtown?"

"All the way down town… to the most southern point."

"You mean…"

"That's right…"

"Oh come on Yuse." said Blitz "You expect us to believe he drove it down to the South Pole?"

Yusei slapped himself on the forehead.

"No, he drove himself and his runner straight down to the fiery underworld!"

"Oh no!"

"Yes! But that's not the worst part… They say that every year during the week leading up to the anniversary of his last duel Damian comes back, atop a fiery duel runner and with a new Exodia deck outfitted with powerful demon cards, to prove he's the best duelist ever. To do this he seeks out the best duelists in the world, and if he defeats them he drags them down to rot in Hell. And you know what… the anniversary is next Saturday."

"The best… but… wouldn't that make you one of his targets?" asked Rally.

"I guess… Then he'll be coming."

"How will we know?"

"There are three signs that signal the approach of Damian the Bad… First, if there are lights on wherever you are, then they will flicker on and off, and eventually they will stay off. Next, you will smell something horrible, some say it smells like rotten eggs… but I'll tell you what it is… it's the smell of."

"Socks?" asked Nervin.

"No, fire and brimstone. And finally you'll here Damian's ghastly laugh as he approaches. It shrieks and moans and send a chill through your bones… it's not of this world… it's inhuman. Then the next thing you'll see coming out of the darkness will be a duel runner with the wheels ablaze with hellfire, driven by… Damian the Bad!"

At that moment someone jumped down with a skull like face and scared the hell out of everyone, everyone that is except Yusei. The person took off his mask.

"Crow!"

"HA-AH! You guys should have seen the look on your faces. Great story Yusei."

"Tanner told it to me back when we were incarcerated at The Facility."

"That was scary Yusei." said Rally "What did you think Tank? … Tank?"

They found Tank huddled up in the corner shivering.

"I don't know what he said… but it was the way he told it."


	2. Officer Down!

It was just a normal night in New Domino city like any other, but tonight something felt different. There was strange chill in the air.

"Wake up… You're the best duelist… it's time take your revenge… wake up."

In the fraction of a second a pedestrian could claim he saw the road spontaneously catch on fire, see a duel runner emerge out of the flames, then watch the runner and the person riding it race off into the night.

"That's it, no more drinks for me."

Officer Trudge had been giving the most boring assignment an officer could receive, speed trap duty. Everything was in order, when suddenly the lights from all the buildings around started flashing on and off, then everything went black.

"What in the name of… sniff… sniff… What is that awful smell?!"

"MWAH HA HA HA HA AH AH!!! MWAH HA HA HA HA!!!"

The next thing Trudge saw was a duel runner that looked like it was on fire whipping past the traffic, it had been going more than double the posted limit.

"Looks like we got us a real hotshot here."

Trudge immediately sped off after him. The guy on the runner wasn't even wearing a helmet, the way his hair danced in the wind made it look like his head was on fire, and it almost looked like the wheels of the runner were on fire.

"You on the runner! This is Sector Security! Pull over!"

The person riding the runner didn't respond.

"Very well then, I'll make him surrender with a duel."

Trudge pressed the button on his runner, but it wasn't working.

**Error: Cannot override suspect's duel runner.**

"What the… What's going on here?!"

At that moment Trudge heard the person's maniacal voice.

"You can't force me into anything officer, but if you want to duel then all you have to do is ask."

"Don't play games with me! You think you can mess with security and get away with it?!"

"As a matter of fact I do. Now shut up and let's duel."

**Duel mode engaged: Autopilot activated.**

"Game on!"

"The first turn is mine!"

(Speed: 1)

"I summon a monster in defense mode, next I activate the continuous speed spell Hellfire Acceleration, but in order to use it I must discard my entire hand!"

"What? I've never even heard of that card, and why would you willingly discard your entire hand?"

"You'll find out soon enough, officer."

"Well with no more cards in your hand it's my turn!"

(Speed: 1)

"I place one card face down and Summon Search Striker!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200)

"Search Striker, use your special effect to automatically destroy his face down monster!"

Search Striker blew the monster away.

"Since you just destroyed my Sangan, I get to take a monster from my deck with 1500 attack points or less and add it to my hand. And since your Search Striker destroyed it with its effect it switched to defense mode, and it will stay in defense mode until the end of your next turn."

(DEF: 1200)

"Just make your move punk! The sooner I beat you the sooner I get to turn you in!"

"Beat me? That's a laugh. First I draw."

(Speed: 3)

"What?! How did you just get two speed counters?!"

"It's all part of Hellfire Acceleration. From now on during my standby phase I gain two speed counters instead of one, in addition it also lets me draw two cards at the start of my turn instead of one. Now I'll summon…"

"Not so fast hotshot! I activate my facedown trap, Light of Intervention! From now on whenever either of us summons a monster in defense mode it will have to be face up. No more surprises from you!"

"So you can see my monsters, I'm still full of surprises. Now as I was saying, I summon Witch of the Black Forest in defense mode!"

(ATK: 1100 DEF: 1200)

"It's your move officer, not that it really matters."

"You watch your mouth punk. I'll play one card face down and summon Gate Blocker in defense mode!"

(ATK: 100 DEF: 2000)

"Now during your standby phase you can't gain any speed counters, even with that Hellfire Acceleration spell!"

"No one keeps me from my speed… I summon the monster Demon Warrior!"

**(Not a real card)**

(ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"You call that a monster?! That thing has no attack points and no defense points! Why would you even bother having a card like that in your deck?!"

"Never judge a card solely by its points. My monster's special effects more than make up for its lack of attack and defense points, for example once per turn I can destroy one card on my opponent's side of the field!"

"What?!"

"You heard me. Demon Warrior, destroy Gate Blocker!"

The skeleton wearing the suit of armor rode up to Gate Blocker on its horse and stabbed it with its sword, after that Gate Blocker just blew up.

"Drat, now I can't use my Broken Blocker trap because Gate Blocker wasn't destroyed in battle… You'll pay for that punk!"

(Speed: 3)

"I remove Assault dog, Gonogo, and Guard Dog from my hand so I can special summon Montage Dragon!"

(ATK: ? DEF: 0)

"And since the total level of monsters I just removed from play is 10, my Montage Dragon's attack points become 3000!"

(ATK: 3000)

"Prepare to take some serious damage, but first I'll destroy your Witch of the Black Forest with my Search Striker!"

Search Striker blew Witch of the Black forest away.

"Since you destroyed my Witch of the Black Forest, I get to take a monster from my deck with 1500 or fewer defense points and add it to my hand."

"Whatever, it won't protect you from this attack! Now Montage Dragon, blow away his Demon Warrior along with 3000 of his life points!"

Montage Dragon blasted Demon warrior and everything was covered in smoke.

"And with that I'm just one attack away from turning you in!"

"Are you so sure about that officer? I think you should double check the score."

"What?!"

Trudge looked down at the score, the person's life points and speed counters hadn't changed at all, and Demon Warrior was still on the field.

"How is this possible?!"

"I told you I'm just full of surprises. My Demon Warrior can't be destroyed in battle, and any damage I would normally take in a battle involving him is reduced to 0."

"WHAT?!"

"Now if that's all you can do, it's my turn."

(Speed: 5)

"I play the speed spell Hellfire Pentagram! To use this one of a kind speed spell I must pay 500 life points."

(???: 3500)

"But it's worth it, because now I get to select one card from my deck and add it to my hand. Now I shuffle my deck, next I get to look at the top five cards of my deck and arrange them in any order I please. Next I'll have my Demon Warrior destroy your Search Striker!"

Demon Warrior charged up on its horse to Search Striker and stabbed it with its sword.

"But why didn't you just destroy my Montage Dragon?!"

"I want you to hold on to any false hope you have of beating me, it will make it that much sweeter when I win."

"You're going to regret that move punk!"

(Speed: 4)

"With my speed counter at four, I can now activate my Sonic Buster speed spell, and deal damage to your life points equal to half of Montage Dragon's attack points!"

(???: 2000)

The mysterious duelist was laughing his head off; he and Trudge were now on the Daedalus Bridge, the new bridge that connected New Domino city to the Satellite.

"So you've found a way to deal damage to my life points, talk about too little too late!"

"What do you mean?"

"This duel is over!"

"You're bluffing!"

"If you don't believe me I'll just show my hand."

The mysterious duelist laid five cards on the field.

"I summon Exodia the forbidden one!"

"NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

The seal was broken and Exodia was released.

"Exodia, OBLITERATE!!!"

Exodia blasted Trudge knocking him off his duel runner.

Trudge had broken his leg on the bridge, he couldn't move. Now he could see the mysterious duelist clearly. He was dressed head to toe in black leather, save for the red armor pads he wore, and the silver spikes on his gauntlets and shoulders. He also saw that it wasn't a hairstyle, his head was really on fire, and to top it all off his head was a skull!

"Who… What are you?"

"I'm your worst nightmare…"

He started to advance, Trudge reached for his gun.

"Stay back!"

He ignored the warning and Trudge opened fire, but he just stood there like he didn't even feel it. He pulled one of the bullets out of his jacket.

"Bullets… Nice try."

"Have mercy…"

"Oh sorry, we're fresh out of that, I'm afraid all we have left is untimely death."

"NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Trudge's body was engulfed in flame. He reappeared on the blank card Damian was holding in his hand.

"Much better."

Suddenly a spotlight shone on Damian.

"This is Sector Security! Step away from the runner and put your hands in the air!"

There were officers on both sides of the bridge.

"Oh yeah like I'm really going to surrender to the burglar alarm, come on."

He mounted his duel runner and drove toward the edge of the bridge.

"WHAT'S THAT PUNK DOING!?!"

Damian drove off the bridge, then the unexpected happened. His runner was riding on the water! He laughed at the officers on the bridge in contempt, then he stuck out his middle finger at them, and rode off into the night.


	3. Double Trouble

Unbelievably no one had heard about the incident that had taken place on the Daedalus Bridge. Sector Security was doing everything they could to keep it quiet. A whole day had passed and not a trace of the mysterious duelist could be found. It was like he vanished into thin air.

"One soul… One soul that is hardly worth a cockroach's waste… I need more souls… souls of true duelists… I need the soul of Yusei Fudo… To him I'm just an urban legend… because of that he has no reason to fear me… I must make him fear me… And I know just how to do it…"

"Leo, stop playing with the lights."

"Hey, I'm not doing anything!"

At that moment the lights just stopped.

"Jumping jehosaphat! Who let one?!"

Suddenly the building's fire alarm went off.

"FIRE!!! FIRE!!!"

Leo and Luna started to make for the door, but someone entered before they could reach it.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!"

"Who are you?!"

"My name is Damian, and I challenge the two of you to a duel."

"Uh… Sorry sir, but our parents told us not to duel strangers, especially ones that have a flaming skull for a head." said Leo.

"I'm afraid I must insist."

Damian snapped his fingers and they were all surrounded by a ring of fire.

"What is this? Is he some kind of Dark Signer we missed?!"

"No… I'm a hell of a lot worse. Now are we going to duel or what?"

"Luna, I don't think he's giving us much of a choice in the matter."

"Hmm… Tell you what; I'll let the two of you duel me at the same time if it makes you feel better."

"Two against one? There's no way you can beat the two of us at the same time!" said Leo.

"We shall see."

"Let's duel!!!"

"I'll make the first move. I summon a monster in defense mode, next I'll place two cards face down on the field. Now I activate the continuous spell card, Contract with the Devil!"

"Not that! Wait a minute… I've never heard of that card."

"Neither have I." said Luna.

"That's because I've got the only one."

"What does it do?"

"During the turn I activate it I need to discard my entire hand, but it's worth it because from now on during my draw phases I get to draw two cards instead of one."

"Why would he willingly discard his entire hand?" thought Luna.

"Ladies first, it's your turn little girl."

"Okay… I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Luna, is that all you can do? Guess it's up to me. I summon Morphtronic Celfon in attack mode!"

(ATK: 100 DEF: 100)

"Now I'll activate his special effect, he randomly dials a number and I get to look at a number of cards on the top of my deck equal to the number it lands on… It's a four! So I get to look at the top four cards… and I special summon Morphtronic Boomboxen in defense mode!"

(ATK: 1200 DEF: 400)

"Is that all you've got? Then I guess it's my turn again… I play the spell card Dark World Dealings, now we all draw one card from our decks and send one card in our hands to the graveyard, and this activates my facedown trap, Appropriate!"

"What does that do?"

"Whenever my opponent, or in this case opponents, draws outside their draw phases I get to draw two cards from my deck, like right now. Next I'll summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"All he's done is draw cards and play defense. What's he waiting for? Wait, maybe he's planning to sacrifice those two monsters for something, I can't let that happen."

Luna drew her card.

"I play a card facedown and summon Dancing Fairy!"

(ATK: 1700 DEF: 1000)

"Next I activate the spell card Double Summon, and I'll use it to summon Sunny Pixie!"

(ATK: 300 DEF: 400)

"And I'll switch my face down Dreamsprite to attack mode!"

(ATK: 300 DEF: 200)

"Now I'll tune my Sunny Pixie to Dreamsprite and Dancing Fairy to synchro summon Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

(ATK: 2100 DEF: 3000)

"And since I used Sunny Pixie to synchro summon a light attribute monster, I gain 1000 life points."

(Luna: 5000)

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack and destroy his face down monster!"

Ancient Fairy Dragon blew away one of Damian's face down cards, which turned out to be Sangan.

"Now that's more like it!" said Leo.

"Don't forget, since you destroyed my Sangan, I now get to take a monster with 1500 or fewer attack points from my deck and add it to my hand."

"Whatever, It's my turn now! I use Morphtronic Celfon's effect, it's a three, and I'll special summon Morphtronic Remoten!"

(ATK: 300 DEF: 1200)

"Now I'll tune him with my Morphtronic Boomboxen to synchro summon Power Tool Dragon!"

(ATK: 2300 DEF: 2500)

"Now I'll equip him with the spell card Fairy Meteor Crush!"

"I don't think so kid, I activate my face down trap, Dark Bribe!"

Leo's spell card vanished.

"It negates the activation of your spell card, however you get to draw one card from you deck, and since I have my Appropriate trap in play that means I get to draw two more cards from my deck."

"Whatever, Power Tool Dragon, attack his face down monster!"

Power Tool Dragon destroyed Damian's face down monster, which turned out to be the Witch of the Black Forest.

"Since you destroyed my Black Forest Witch, I get to take a monster from my deck with 1500 or fewer defense points."

"Whatever, just make your move!"

"Hmm… Let's see, those two synchro monsters pose something of a threat to my life points… So I'll just have to block them."

Damian drew his two cards.

"I summon a monster in defense mode. Next I play the spell card Double Summon, and I'll use it to summon another monster in defense mode."

"More defenses, I know Leo and I have two powerful monsters on the field, but playing defense is all he's done this entire duel."

Luna looked at the cards in her hand.

"I activate the equip spell Horn of the Unicorn, and I'll equip it to Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 3700)

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack his face down monster!"

Ancient Fairy Dragon blasted Damian's face down monster, but when the smoke cleared it was still there.

(ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"What?! But that monster has no defense points, it should have been destroyed!"

"Normally that would be true, but my Demon with a shield monster can't be destroyed in battle, or by the effects of spell or trap cards, and that more than makes up for its lack of points."

"But if we can't get past that monster, then we can't deal damage to his life points… unless… Leo, do you have some spell cards to spare?"

Leo knew exactly what Luna was thinking.

"I equip my Morphtronic Celfon with Morptronic Cord and Megamorph! Take it Luna!"

"I activate the trap card Fairy Wind, now all the face up spell and trap cards on the field are destroyed, and we all take damage equal to the number of cards destroyed times 300!"

When Fairy Wind took effect Luna was shocked to see that one of Damian's cards wasn't destroyed.

"Sorry kid, but my Contract with the Devil spell card can't be destroyed by monster, spell, or trap effects. The devil creates a binding contract; after all… a deal's a deal."

"Okay, he's really freaking me out now." thought Leo.

"I doesn't matter." said Luna "Thanks to Fairy Wind four spell or trap cards were destroyed, so we all still lose 1200 life points!"

(Damian: 2800)

(Luna: 3800)

(Leo: 2800)

"And it's still my turn." said Leo "Just because one of your monsters can't be destroyed in battle doesn't mean they all can't! Power Tool Dragon, attack his other face down monster!"

Power Tool Dragon destroyed Damian's face down monster, but Damian was actually laughing.

"Since you destroyed my Emissary of the Afterlife we all take a level 3 or lower normal monster from our decks and show them to each other, then that card gets added to our hands."

"I choose Tenderness." said Luna.

"I choose… Wait! I don't have any normal type monsters in my deck!" exclaimed Leo.

"In that case I'll just pick my card, and I choose Left Arm of the Forbidden One."

"Forbidden One!" exclaimed Leo "No way! You're going to summon Exodia!?!"

"Yes, but not yet. I need all five pieces in my hand to do that, and right now I'm one card short. So for now I'll just play this monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Now we know what he's planning." thought Luna "But there's nothing in my hand that can do a thing about it, and since he has that Demon with a Shield protecting him we can't touch his life points."

Since Luna's Horn of the Unicorn had been destroyed by Fairy Wind's effect, it was sent to the top of her deck, but it wasn't something she needed right now.

"I pass, there's nothing I can do."

"We've got to beat this guy before he gets that last piece of Exodia!" thought Leo.

He drew his card.

"Perfect! I Summon Morphtronic Radion in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 900)

"And since he's in attack mode he gains 800 attack points!"

(ATK: 1800)

"Next I activate the equip spell Double Tool C&D and equip it to my Power Tool Dragon!"

(ATK: 3300)

"Not only does he get an attack boost, but when he attacks the effects of the target monster are negated, so your Demon with a Shield is helpless!"

Luna felt a rush of hope flow through her, Leo's plan might actually work.

"Power Tool Dragon, attack and destroy his Demon with a Shield!"

The drill attached to Power Tool Dragon drilled right through Demon with a shield.

"Now Morphtronic Radion, attack and destroy his face down monster!"

Morphtronic Radion destroyed Damian's face down monster, but Leo was horrified when he found out what it was.

"NO! ANOTHER EMISSARY OF THE AFTERLIFE!!!"

"Yes, which means I get to take another level three or lower normal monster from my deck… and the Right Arm of the Forbidden One makes five!"

At that moment Exodia broke free from the seal that contained it.

"EXODIA! This would be a lot cooler if I we weren't on the receiving end!" thought Leo.

"Exodia, OBLITERATE!!!"

Leo and Luna's monsters were blown away by Exodia's attack, then they were blown into the wall.

"You lose, now it's time I claim my prize."

Luna started glowing.

"Luna! What's the matter?!"

"Leo! HELP ME!!!"

Before Leo could move Luna was engulfed in fire. Then a blank card Damian was holding flashed. For a moment he stood there and examined his prize.

"One down… Four to go."

He had taken the first of the five signers, but what to do with her brother?

"AGH!!! DON'T HURT ME! DON'T HURT ME!!!"

Damian grabbed Leo by the shoulders and hoisted him off the ground.

"If I let you live… what are you going to do?" he growled.

"WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO DO!!!"

Damian smiled, and even though the demon's hands felt like it was on fire, Leo felt a cold shiver down his spine.

"Find the other signers… Tell them that Damian the Bad is coming."

"I'll tell them! I'll tell everybody!"

Satisfied, Damian threw Leo into the wall, then he pressed his fingers to his lips and whistled. The next thing Leo saw was a fiery dragon like duel runner bursting in through the window.

"MWAH HA AH AH HA AH!!!"

Damian mounted the runner and to Leo's horror he sped right out the wall, Leo looked out the hole in the wall in time to see the horrifying specter onboard his runner speeding down the building's walls heading for the street below. Leo could feel his pants getting warm, it took him only a moment to realize he had wet himself.


	4. The Hunt Begins

**(Warning: Chapter contains spoilers in anime)**

It starts as a whirlwind of cascading rose pedals, sinuous, hypnotic, and ends as… her. Her eyes fill you and pin you… You can't move, but it doesn't matter, because you don't want to. Suddenly she's close, her skin is warm, her scent is intoxicating, you want to stay like this… with her… forever…

"Yusei! Yusei!!!"

All at once Yusei woke up.

"Just dreaming…" he thought disappointed.

"Yusei, are you in there?"

"Sorry Rally, I was a million miles away."

"Sector Security is outside!"

"What? But I didn't do anything."

"That's what we told them, but they want to see you anyway."

Yusei was told that Luna had been kidnapped. It told him all he needed to know, someone was moving against the signers. Security had escorted him and Crow to the Tops. As they reached Luna and Leo's home Yusei was shocked by the burn marks in the floor and on the wall.

"My God! What happened here?!"

Jack and Akiza were already there, and Leo looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Has he said anything?"

"No."

"Leo, it's okay, we're here."

"Yusei… he came… he came and took Luna…"

"He… He who?"

"He said his name was… Damian… Damian the Bad."

"Who's Damian the Bad?" asked Akiza.

"Just an urban legend meant to frighten little kids and prevent them from going out after dark." said Jack.

"Leo, this is serious… Who kidnapped Luna?"

"Damian… Damian the Bad."

"Yusei, I think he's serious." said Crow.

"But Damian the Bad isn't real."

"Okay, before we go any further can you please clear one thing up for me?" said Akiza "Who is this Damian guy exactly."

"It's really just an old scary story." said Crow "It's about a turbo duelist who couldn't win even with Exodia. Story goes that one day he lost his mind and drove his runner into Hell. And supposedly every year he returns from the grave to hunt down the world's greatest duelists to drag them down there."

"Sorry I asked."

"Leo, what did he look like?" asked Yusei.

"He… He looked like a… man… but… his head was a skull… and it was on fire…"

"On fire?" asked Akiza.

"Yes… he… challenged us to a duel… he faced the two of us at the same time… he beat us… with Exodia."

"Yusei… Exodia was Damian's signature move." said Crow.

"I know."

"And he… he had this… duel runner… It looked like a dragon… the wheels were on fire… he… he… it came to him on its own because he whistled for it… He drove it straight through the wall there… and rode down the building… I know it sounds crazy but…"

"No, not at all." said Jack "So did the big scary man take your sister to the lollipop forest or to ice cream mountain?"

Now Leo looked angry.

"I saw Damian the Bad with my own eyes, and I saw him kidnap my sister!!!"

"Did you also see his henchmen?" asked Jack "You know, the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy?"

"I know what I saw! That crazy skull head broke in through that door and kidnapped my sister!"

Yusei looked at the burn marks in the floor.

"Crow, do you smell that?"

"Yeah, it smells kinda like… rotten eggs! It's one of the signs!"

"Maybe it's just a coincidence?" said Akiza.

"I hope so… because if not… I don't want to think about what's happened to Luna."

"Looks like it's going to be a ghost hunt." said Crow.

"You don't really believe this, do you?" asked Jack.

"Hey, I know I'm new to this whole signer thing, but after what happened with the dark signers and Goodwin I'll believe anything."

"So where do we start looking for this… specter?" asked Akiza.

"Well, some people claim that the old duel arena downtown is haunted by Damian's ghost because it's supposedly the place where he had his last duel. It was closed down several years ago when freaky things started to happen there."

"That place isn't haunted, and there is no ghost." said Jack "It's probably some crazy guy in a mask."

"Then how do explain the fact that his head was on fire?!" exclaimed Leo.

"Duel disks can create life like holograms of giant monsters, it shouldn't be too difficult to make a hologram to give off the impression that a man's head is on fire."

"Regardless of whether there is a ghost or not, someone has kidnapped one of our own." said Yusei "And it's up to the four of us to find Luna. If her kidnapper really was Damian the Bad, or someone claiming to be him, we can't ignore anything that could help us find her."

"But suppose Damian the bad is real, and he's dragged Luna down to… you know… what do we do about it?"

"I don't know…but if Luna had died I think our marks would have given us some kind of sign. So until we find out otherwise, she is alive and awaiting our rescue."


	5. The Haunted Arena

By the time Yusei and the others had reached the old arena night had fallen. The moon was full tonight and it cast an eerie light on the entire place. There was a sign at the gate that said the place had been condemned.

"That's encouraging." said Crow.

"Our friends across the city have there eyes open for anything suspicious, they'll call us if they see anything. In the meantime we need to investigate this building."

"Whatever, let's split up and get this over with." said Jack.

"Wait! We can't just split up!" said Crow.

"Why not?"

"He's right!" said Leo "Don't you see? It's just like a scary movie."

"It's like a what?" said Akiza.

"Never forget the number one rule of monster hunting." said Crow "The boogeyman always strikes when no one can hear you scream. That's what always happens when someone goes off on their own. Break the rule and you're toast."

"Does it look like we're laughing?" asked Akiza.

"I'm being serious!"

"I'll take my chances with the so-called boogeyman." said Jack.

**(guess where I got that from)**

"I think Crow has a point, we should split into groups."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." said Jack.

"Fine." said Akiza "Jack can go his own way, Leo you go with Crow, Yusei and I will go that way."

"And remember, if anything bad happens, scream."

"The boogeyman attacks when no one can hear you scream. What a joke."

Suddenly Jack heard movement not far away.

"Who's there?"

No response.

"Crow, if this is one of your tricks it's not funny."

At that moment Jack felt someone reach out from behind and touch him on the shoulder.

"Get back!"

He turned around and pointed his flashlight at it.

"Wait, Jack it's only me!"

"Carly? You scared the Hell out of me… What are you doing here anyway?"

"A few nights ago I saw that officer Trudge blown away by someone who used Exodia. Then I heard about what happened at the Tops, I came here to see if the urban legends were true."

"Trying once again to get the scoop of your life are you? Well I'm here to prove to Yusei and the others that there is no ghost."

"Maybe… We can look together? I don't want to be alone if that… demon guy shows up."

"He's not a demon, it's a guy in mask."

"Jack, I saw the guy at the Daedalus Bridge. Not only was his head on fire, but so where the wheels on his runner, and to top it all off he drove it off the bridge and rode on the water."

"You and I both know that's physically impossible. I'll bet you a million American dollars that it was just a hologram projection."

"I'd say you're on, but I don't have a million dollars to bet."

Yusei and Akiza were looking around another part of the condemned stadium.

"You said that they stopped using this place when freaky things started to happen here, what sort of freaky things, or do I not want to know?" asked Akiza.

"Well, people claim to have seen things. I'm not sure what exactly, but apparently it was enough to scare them off."

"Well whoever this Damian guy is he can't be worse than the dark signers. He may have beat Luna and Leo, but they're just kids."

"None of the Dark signers had Exodia in their decks."

"The first King of Games defeated Exodia, a Duel Academy alumnus defeated Exodia, if they can do it so can we. Have you ever faced someone using Exodia Yusei?"

"No. It's an old strategy, and I don't know anyone that has a single piece, I never expected I'd have to go against the forbidden one."

"Neither have I, but I guess some things are just fate. Just like the marks of the Crimson Dragon bringing us all together."

Yusei looked at his arm. He used to bear the mark of the dragon's tail, but when he defeated Goodwin he was promoted to the dragon's head, and since there are always five signers Crow received the tail.

"Yes, our meeting was definitely fate, but I'm starting to think that my meeting Akiza was about more than just to fight the forces of darkness."

As Crow and Leo looked around the old building Crow was singing a song.

"They say he lost his mind, went crazy on that day, went riding on his runner, and drove it straight to… hey! Where's the big bad ghost, been waitin' all night long, he better show up soon, or I'm gonna have to say so long. Oh yeah! Been waitin' at the haunted arena!"

"If you don't mind, we should be looking for my sister." said Leo.

"If the legend of Damian is true then we're not gonna find her. She's probably running from demons at the moment."

"Next time I'm going with Yusei."

At that moment Crow noticed something.

"Wait… there's a light coming from behind that door."

Crow and Leo slowly moved over to the door, then Crow threw it open.

"Stop right there you creepy! …. toilet."

Crow noticed that the light had gone deeper into the locker room.

"Wait here." he said to Leo.

He went further inside, when suddenly he heard the door shut behind him.

"Leo! Leo! Hey this isn't funny!"

"On the contrary…" said a creepy voice behind him "I think it's hilarious."

Crow turned around and found himself face to face with Damian.

"You're the new guy, the Dragon's tail… You should be easy picking, especially since unlike the other signers you don't have a dragon of your own."

**(For those of you that don't already know this: At the moment we don't know what the fifth dragon is because it hasn't been made into a card, not even in Japan. But it's not Power Tool Dragon because 1: Leo isn't a signer, and 2: Power Tool Dragon is a machine monster)  
**

Crow wasn't scared, he was actually excited.

"I don't need a dragon to beat the likes of you, now tell me what you've done with the girl!"

"Nothing… yet. Tell you what, beat me in a duel and I'll give her back."

"No problem, you're not match for me and my Blackwings!"

"We shall see."

"Let's duel!"

"The first turn is mine! First I summon a monster in defense mode, next I'll place two cards face down on the field, and finally I'll play the continuous spell card Contract with the Devil, sure I may be forced to discard my entire hand, but from now on during my draw phase I can draw two cards instead of one."

Crow knew very well why Damian would want to draw two cards during his draw phase.

"According to the stories when Damian was a turbo duelist his whole deck focused on summoning Exodia and doing it fast. I'll just have to hit him hard and fast before he can complete him. And I have just the cards to do it."

"I summon Blackwing - Bora the spear in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1700 DEF: 800)

"And since there is a Blackwing on my field I can now special summon Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind!"

(ATK: 1300 DEF: 400)

"Blackwing – Bora, attack his face down monster!"

Bora stabbed Damian's face down monster and destroyed it, but Damian just laughed.

"You fool, it was a Morphing Jar!"

"Morphing Jar?"

"Is there an echo in here? Yes! A Morphing Jar! Normally we'd both have to discard our entire hands right now, but since there are no cards in my hand I don't need to discard any, thanks to you I get to draw five cards."

"Well so do I pal."

"I know, which is why I'm activating my face down trap card, Approprite! From now on whenever you draw cards outside your draw phase, like right now, I get to draw two cards from my deck!"

"It's still my turn, and don't forget Bora's special effect, since his attack points were higher than your monster's defense points you take damage equal to the difference!"

(Damian: 2900)

"Now that you're defenseless I'll attack you directly with Blackwing – Gale!"

(Damian: 1600)

"And I'll end my turn by playing this card face down."

"Impressive… Most impressive. You actually managed to take more than half my life points on your first turn. But I hope you don't have any fantasies about winning this duel."

"I think I can fantasize all I want, I was a pretty good duelist before, and now that I'm a signer there's no way you can beat me!"

"True you signers are powerful, that's precisely why my master is so interested in you and the others, and why he has given me the power I need to beat you."

"Your master? Who's your master?"

"Less questions, more dueling. It's my turn, and thanks to my Contract with the Devil spell card I get to draw two cards instead of one. Next I play the spell card Allure of Darkness, with this I can draw two more cards from my deck as long as I remove one dark monster in my hand from play, I choose to get rid of Mad Reloader. Now I activate Dark World Dealings, this causes both of us to draw a card from our decks and then discard one card, and thanks to my Appropriate trap I get to draw two more cards. I'll end my turn by playing this monster in defense mode. Since there are eleven cards in my hand I need to discard five, but that's okay because I didn't need them anyway."

"If my math is right he's already gone through more than half his deck. I better finish this duel in a hurry before he summons Exodia."

Crow drew his card.

"It's my turn! Blackwing – Bora, attack his face down monster!"

Bora attacked and the monster revealed itself, but when the spear struck nothing happened.

(ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"WHAT!?!"

"Sorry bird brain, but my Demon with a Shield can't be destroyed in battle."

"It doesn't matter! Thanks to Bora's special effect you should still lose life points!"

"You mean that would have happened, except that any damage I receive as a result of battle involving my Demon with a Shield is reduced to zero."

"Well in that case I'll just destroy your Appropriate trap card with my face down Dust Tornado!"

"I don't think so. I activate the trap card Dark Bribe! This negates your trap card's effect and let's you draw one card, and since you drew outside your draw phase I can draw two more cards thanks to my Appropriate!"

"Man, this guy has an answer for everything."

At the start of his turn Damian drew his two cards and a wicked grin spread across his face.

"Oh no."

Damian threw his hands up in the air and called out, "Exodia! Come forth!"

The seal was broken and Exodia emerged out of it.

"Definitely not good!"

"Exodia, OBLITERATE!!!"

Exodia charged its attack and fired, the force of the attack sent Crow crashing into the wall.

"Now what were you saying about being able to beat me?" said Damian as he advanced.

"Wait let's not do anything hasty… You know I really respect you and I was hoping we could be friends! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!"

Crow was consumed by fire and his image appeared on the blank card Damian was holding.

"Two down, three to go."

**(To be continued)**


	6. Fear

"This is not looking good at all."

"We've already lost Luna and Crow, that just leaves the three of us to combat this demon."

"How many times do I have to tell you guys?!" said Jack "There's no such thing as ghosts!"

"How do you explain the fact that my sister was engulfed by fire and just disappeared?!" said Leo.

"It's all just a bunch of hocus pocus. And I'm going to prove it to all of you by beating this so called specter in a duel and unmasking him."

They watched Jack stomp off.

"Well he's either really brave or really stupid." said Akiza.

"At least he's brave enough to go looking for this creep!" exclaimed Carly.

"What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?" said Yusei.

That night Jack was out on his runner patrolling the city while Yusei was keeping his eyes open in the satellite. Akiza's parents had insisted she stay home that evening for her own protection.

"Shooting star, this is Miles Prower, come in Shooting star!"

"Rally, this is a secure line, you don't need to talk in code."

"I know, but it's so much cooler that way. I just wanted to say there's no activity where we are."

"What is this, a stake out?" said Tank "I'd rather have a stake in, as in a big juicy stake in me."

"Remind me why we're trying to catch a ghost." said Nervin.

"We don't even know if it's really a ghost."

"Blitz is right Nervin." said Yusei "First we need to see if this guy is really Damian the Bad or just some hotshot in a mask, then we'll make him tell us where the others are."

Hours passed and it was late into the night, still nothing had happened.

"Eleven o'clock and all's well!"

"Hey Gramps, how is Leo or anyone else in the city supposed to sleep with you yelling, all's well, every hour?" said Tanner.

"Blister, anything on your end?" asked Yusei.

"Nadda, it's like a ghost town here."

"Akiza, anything?"

"It's as quiet as a tomb. It might as well be a tomb the way my father has the place locked up."

"Okay, just let me know if anything happens."

"You'll be the first one I call, be careful out there."

"I will."

Before the connection broke Yusei wanted to say something else to her, but he couldn't find the guts to say it.

"Mina, found anything yet?" asked Jack.

"Nothing yet."

"Make sure those surveillance goons keep their eyes open, it's time we found this clown and…"

Suddenly Jack received another call.

"Yes?"

"Jack! It's me! I think he's coming!"

"Carly, calm down. Where are you?"

"I'm on 616th, the lights are flashing and it really stinks!"

Jack started speeding through the city streets heading towards the place Carly had mentioned.

"Jack! It's him! I just saw him going down the street!"

In a matter of seconds Jack saw what looked like a burning duel runner heading down the street in front of him. Jack sped to keep up with him.

"Jack… Are you there? Jack!"

Jack ignored Yusei's question, he knew he was going to warn him not go after the nutjob, it was time he proved it to Yusei and the others that it was just some freak with a hologram projector.

"Hey bonehead!"

Damian turned his head around to see his pursuer.

"Well if it isn't the dragon's wings, for a moment I was worried it was just more of those pathetic mortals who call themselves security."

"So are we gonna duel or what?!"

"You actually want to duel me? Very well, your soul."

"Save the acting for a musical and let's duel!"

"Very well."

**Duel mode engaged**

**Autopilot activated.**

"Let's ride!"

(Damian Speed: 1)

"I know all about you Jack Atlas. You think I'm just a hoax, you think this is where Scooby Doo and Shaggy unmask the villain and spoil his ill gotten gains, and you shall pay for such ignorance with your very soul. I place two cards face down, next I'll summon a monster in defense mode, finally I play the continuous speed spell Hellfire Acceleration and discard my entire hand. I hope you enjoy whatever turns you have, because this duel will be your last."

(Jack Speed: 1)

"He doesn't scare me." thought Jack "I have this duel all figured out, if my hunch is correct about that face down card of his then I'll have eliminated his biggest threat in no time."

Jack looked over the cards in his hand.

"I summon Twin-Sword Marauder in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000)

"Twin-Sword Marauder, attack his face down monster!"

Twin-Sword Marauder sliced right through Damian's monster.

"Since you destroyed my Emissary of the Afterlife I get to take a normal monster from my deck that is level 3 or lower, and I choose Left Leg of the Forbidden One. You'd get to pick a card too, if there were any normal monster's in your deck."

"I don't need any normal monsters. Due to my Twin-Sword Marauder's special effect, since I destroyed one of your monsters in defense mode, you take damage equal to the difference between its defense points and my monster's attack points."

(Damian Life Points: 3000 Speed: 0)

"And Twin-Sword Marauder has another effect, on the turn it destroys a defense position monster it can attack again!"

Twin-Sword Marauder attacked Damian directly.

(Damian: 1400)

"And as if that wasn't enough for you I'll play three cards face down."

"You truly are a singer Mr. Atlas. Most duelists are lucky if they manage to damage my life points at all, and you've managed to take more than half of them on your first turn. But an early lead means nothing; all that matters is who wins in the end"

"I couldn't agree more, so I going to make sure that it's me who wins in the end!"

Damian just laughed.

"In the meantime it's my turn. And due to the effect of Hellfire Acceleration I draw two cards instead of one, in addition I also gain two speed counters."

(Damian Speed: 2)

"I'll place one card face down, and summon a monster in defense mode. Your turn."

(Jack Speed: 2)

Jack noticed that Damian had three cards face down. He knew what two of them must be.

"I activate my face down trap, Nightmare Archfiends!"

"In that case I activate Dark Bribe, this negates your trap card and allows you to draw one card, which activates my Appropriate trap, allowing me to draw two cards."

Now Jack was laughing, his plan had worked.

"Sorry bonehead, Nightmare Archfiends was a trick to get you to waste your trap card. Now I activate the trap known as Mind Crush! Now I say the name of a card, and if it happens to be in your hand then you have to send it to the graveyard, and I choose Left Leg of the Forbidden One!"

Damian's left leg was sent to the graveyard.

"Now if you were going for Exodia, that's got to hurt."

Damian made no comment.

"What's the matter? Upset that I've won so easily? Well to bad, now I'll sacrifice my Twin-Sword Marauder in order to summon Strong Wind Dragon!"

(ATK: 2400 DEF: 1000)

"Strong Wind Dragon, attack and destroy his face down monster!"

Due to Strong Wind Dragon's effect Jack would have won the duel, but unfortunately Damian's face down monster was Demon with a Shield.

"No matter, the others may have been stuck by that monster's effect, but I know how to beat it." said Jack.

Damian still hadn't lost his cool.

(Damian Speed: 4)

"I pass."

Jack knew if he could just draw the right card then he could end the duel right here.

(Jack Speed: 3)

"This has been mildly entertaining, but it's time to lose the mask. I summon Dark Tinker!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 1300)

"Now I'll tune him to my Strong Wind Dragon in order to summon Red Dragon Archfiend!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 2000)

"Red Dragon Archfiend, attack his Demon with a Shield with Scorching Crimson Flare!"

Red Dragon Archfiend blasted Demon with a shield, for a moment nothing happened, and then the Demon just disintegrated.

"Sorry bone breath, but if my Red Dragon Archfiend attacks a defense position monster, even if that attack is unsuccessful, all defense position monsters on my opponent's side of the field are destroyed after damage calculation. And now for the grand finale, I activate Lineage of Destruction! Now my Red Dragon Archfiend can attack again, this duel is over!"

"You're right Jack Atlas, this duel is over! I activate my face down trap card, Backup Soldier!"

"WHAT!?!"

"When there are five or more monsters in my graveyard I can take up to three normal monsters with 1500 or less attack points from my graveyard and add them to my hand, but I only need one."

Damian took a card from his graveyard, suddenly the seal was broken and Exodia was released.

"NO!"

"Exodia, OBLIERATE!!!"

When Exodia's attack hit Jack was flung off his duel runner and sent skidding down the street. For a moment he just lay there being glad that he had worn a helmet, then Damian started to approach. Jack forced himself to get up and punched Damian in the jaw, but…

"AAAAAGHHHHH!!!"

Jack's hand was on fire, the flame around Damian's head was real after all. And Jack watched in horror as Damian just snapped his jaw back into place.

"Never try and hurt… what you can't kill."

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!" he said falling to the ground.

"Not real says you." growled Damian "As real as pain and death says I."

Jack backed against the wall of a nearby building.

"No… that's not… you're not human… STAY AWAY! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! This isn't happening… I'm not afraid of you… I'm not afraid of you…"

Damian's glowing crimson eyes stared into Jack's.

"I'm… not… afraid…"

"You should be…"

"!!!"

Jack was engulfed in fire and his image appeared on the blank card Damian was holding.

"Now do you believe?"


	7. Pain

In the morning following Jack's disappearance Yusei and the others couldn't reach Carly or Mina, Yusei had assumed they had gone to drown their sorrows somewhere.

"Luna… Crow… Jack… All gone… They're gone!"

"Yusei please tell me they're not gone forever." said Leo.

"I don't know Leo… I just don't know."

During the night that followed Yusei and the others were on high alert. They didn't want Damian to get Akiza, and they didn't want him to get to Yusei, but they especially didn't want him to get both, so Yusei was in the Satellite while Akiza was locked up in her father's house.

"Yusei… Why do you think someone would do all this? I mean stealing people's souls over a card game?" asked Rally.

"This has to be about more than just cards, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense. Most people don't worry about a game title that probably won't matter years from now… no, there has to be more to it, there has to be something else that drives Damian to do the things he does."

At that moment Yusei received a call.

"Yusei! I've got him!"

"Blister? Where is he?!"

"He's in the city; he appears to be heading for…"

"Akiza!"

"Yusei wait, it's too dangerous!"

Yusei ignored the pleas of his friends; he mounted his runner and took off.

Damian used his runner to jump over the fence that guarded Hideo Izinski's house. He was met with a hailstorm of gunfire by the guards that had been ordered to shoot to kill, but their bullets did nothing, nonetheless they just kept shooting until they ran out of ammo.

"My turn." said Damian smiling.

He threw his hands in the air and huge wave of fire erupted out of the ground. When it was over all the guards were rolling around screaming. With no further resistance on the outside Damian marched up to the front door, he wasn't surprised that it was locked, not that it would stop him from achieving his goal. He burned the door down and entered the building, he was met by more guards, but he just beat the hell out of them.

"I've waited too long for this… I won't be denied."

Damian walked through the hallways looking for his prey, he could smell her fear, and not just her own, he could sense the fear of her parents. Damian knew all about how parents care for their children, unfortunately he learned that lesson too late.

"Pathetic mortals."

Damian finally found the room he was looking for, he could sense the power of the dragon radiating from inside. He conjured a ball of fire and blew down the door.

"Here's Johnny!"

"Stay back!"

For a moment Damian just stood there, then he opened his mouth wide and exhaled, at that moment Akiza's parents fainted.

"What did you do to them?!"

"Nothing, they're just going to take a little nap, while you and I duel."

Akiza could see there wasn't much of a choice in the matter.

"Wait!"

"What for?"

"You've done enough damage to my father's house already, and I don't want to do any more."

"Fine… We'll take it outside then."

Akiza knew all about Damian's strategy to summon Exodia, but she was confident that she had found a way to wipe out Damian's life points before that happened.

"Let's duel!"

"I know the rules say ladies first, but the rules of men mean little to me. I summon a monster in defense mode, next I'll place a card face down, and now I'll play the spell card Contract with the Devil, to use this card I need to discard my entire hand, but from now on I get to draw two cards during my draw phase. And I'll leave it at that."

Akiza looked at her hand; she already had plenty of cards to do some damage.

"I play the spell card Seed Cannon! From now on whenever a plant monster is summoned I can place a plant counter on it. Now I summon the monster Evil Thorn!"

(ATK: 100 DEF: 300)

"Now I'll activate its special ability, by sending Evil Thorn to the graveyard I can special summon two more Evil Thorns from my deck!"

(2x ATK: 100 DEF: 300)

"And that's not all! Thanks to Evil Thorn's other special effect you take 300 points of damage!"

(Damian: 3700)

"Now I activate the spell card Double Summon, now I can sacrifice the two Evil Thorns on my field to summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!"

(ATK: 2200 DEF: 0)

"Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, destroy his face down monster!"

Damian's monster was destroyed, and Amaryllis was destroyed with it due to its effect.

"Since my Amaryllis was destroyed you lose 800 life points!"

(Damian: 2900)

"But since you destroyed my Sangan I get to take a monster from my deck with 1500 attack points or less."

"Whatever, now during my end phase I can remove one plant type monster from my grave to special summon Amaryllis in defense mode!"

(DEF: 0)

For a moment Damian just stood there looking at Akiza. The way he looked at her made her feel uneasy.

"Sorry… It's just that you remind me of… someone…"

"Someone? Last I checked you're just a heartless wretch!"

"That wasn't always true… But yes, as I am I have no heart… I feel no love, no anger, no fear, no joy, no sorrow. I am hollow, I have no reason to live, and yet I will live… forever."

"Just make your move!"

"Very well…"

Thanks to Akiza's strategy her Seed Cannon now had five counters on it. On her next turn she could destroy it to inflict 2500 points of damage. Thanks to Damian's Contract with the Devil spell card he could draw two cards from his deck.

"I activate the spell card Dark World Dealings, this requires both of us to draw a card from out decks and send one card to the graveyard, which triggers my Appropriate trap which lets me draw two more cards… Just what the doctor ordered. I activate the spell card A Loan from the Devil!"

**(Not a real card, but you probably guessed that, right**?)

"First a contract, now a loan?"

"The Devil makes deals all the time, it doesn't matter in what form they come. This one of a kind card gives me 5000 life points, I know that sounds like a lot, but there is a catch. Five turns from now I'll lose 5000 life points."

(Damian: 7900)

"And now I shuffle all the monsters in my graveyard back into my deck so that I may special summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord!"

(ATK: ? DEF: 0)

Akiza had heard about this monster. When all five pieces of Exodia were sent to the graveyard by its effect then the card's controller would automatically win, so she'd just have to destroy it before that happened.

"Now I'll activate Exodius' effect, when he attacks I can send one monster card from my hand or deck to the graveyard, I choose Left Leg of the Forbidden One, and the best part is since there's a normal monster in my graveyard Exodius gains 1000 attack points."

(ATK: 1000)

"Exodius, destroy her Amaryllis!"

Amaryllis was crushed underneath Exodius' fist.

"You forget, when Amaryllis is destroyed you lose 800 life points!"

(Damian: 7100)

"No matter, I still have plenty of life points left."

With only 1000 attack points Exodius would be all too easy to destroy, after that Akiza just had to hammer away at Damian's life points until the effect of his Loan from the Devil spell kicked in.

"I activate the effect of Seed Cannon! Since it now has five plant counters on it, I can send it to the graveyard to deal 2500 points of damage to your life points!"

(Damian: 4600)

"Next I summon Violet Witch in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1100 DEF: 1200)

"Violet Witch, attack and destroy his Exodius!"

"I don't think so; I activate the trap card Negate Attack!"

Violet Witch's attack was absorbed.

"A signer with special powers and you didn't see that coming? This is going to be easier than I thought. I place one card face down, next I activate Exodius' effect and send Right Leg of the Forbidden One to the graveyard, giving 1000 more attack points to Exodius!"

(ATK: 2000)

"Exodius, destroy her Violet Witch!"

(Akiza: 3100)

"Since you just sent Violet Witch to the graveyard, I can take a plant type monster with 1500 or fewer defense points from my deck and add it to my hand."

"Take whatever monster you like, nothing is going to help you get out of this mess, nothing in your garden of a deck will protect you from the awesome might of Exodia!"

"We'll see about that. I'll summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"You know for a duelist of your credentials that was a pretty poor move. Whatever, it's your funeral. I activate Exodius' effect and send Left Arm of the Forbidden One to the graveyard."

(ATK: 3000)

"Exodius, destroy her face down monster!"

Akiza's face down Hedge Guard was crushed.

"Let's see if your precious Exodia can protect you from this… I summon Twilight Rose Knight in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000)

"His special effect lets me special summon a level four or lower plant type monster from my hand, and I choose Lord Poison!"

(ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000)

"Now I'll tune Twilight Rose Knight to Lord Poison, in order to synchro summon Black Rose Dragon!"

(ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800)

"Now I'll activate Black Rose Dragon's special ability, by removing a plant type monster in my graveyard from play, I can reduce the attack points of one of your monsters to zero, namely your Exodius!"

(ATK: 0)

"Black Rose Dragon, attack!"

When Black Rose Dragon's attack hit, Exodius exploded.

(Damian: 2200)

"Strong… yes… very strong…"

When the smoke cleared Damian was on his knees.

"You attack me not out of hatred… no… not like the Black Rose… You attack because of your friends… especially… Yusei."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me Akiza… I know what lurks in your bleeding heart… I know because I've been there… You used to enjoy people's pain because of the pain they caused you… trust me when I say you don't know what pain is… Look into my eyes… and see…"

Suddenly Akiza found herself in a whirling torrent of blinding color, when she could see again she saw a turbo duelist that didn't look much older than Yusei who had just lost a duel.

"Lose the loser! Lose the loser!" chanted the crowd.

"What you are seeing are shadows of things that have already happened." said Damian "The person you see is the man I once was. I wanted more than anything in the world to be a champion turbo duelist… but I always came in last place… every… damn… time."

Next Akiza saw the boy alone in the hands of a girl about his age.

"Everyone thought I was a loser, but not her… she always believed in me… she was my angel of mercy… I was willing to do anything to make her happy… so I spent all my hard earned money getting my hands on what I knew could bring me to victory… Exodia."

Akiza saw the human Damian showing his Exodia cards to his girlfriend. Then she saw him dueling with it.

"She was so excited… For the first time in my life it looked like I could be a champion for her… At the next prestigious tournament I debuted my deck, I dueled with it, and I won with it… I remember how happy she and my parents looked after every duel."

Akiza saw the human Damian with a ring.

"It was the final day of the tournament… After I won I was going to ask her to marry me…"

The scene changed to the duel.

"Everything was going according to plan… I was going to win the duel and live happily ever after… then just as I was drawing the final piece of Exodia… it happened."

The human Damian lost control of his runner and crashed into the wall.

"I woke up in the hospital a week later… when I asked my parents where she was they handed me a letter… She couldn't believe it… I couldn't win a tournament even with Exodia in my deck… she left me… the only person who ever believed in me was gone!"

Akiza watched the human Damian burst into tears in his bed.

"Weeks passed and my body healed… but my heart and spirit remained broken… I had put my heart and soul into my Exodia deck and still it had failed me. Before I had been able to bear the pain of losing… but now the one thing that helped me through my tough times was gone… I couldn't stand the pain anymore… so I decided to end it all…"

Akiza watched Damian ride off into the middle of nowhere on his repaired duel runner, when he finally stopped she watched in horror as he pulled a gun out of his pocket and put it to his head.

"NO!!!" she screamed.

BANG!!!

She watched Damian's lifeless body fall to the earth.

"But I had forgotten one thing… Suicides go to Hell…"

Damian's blood red eyes shot open and his head burst into flames leaving nothing but his skull in its place, then the body got up and roared.

Just like that it was over, and Akiza and Damian where back in her parent's backyard dueling…

"There is only one way to end my damnation… I must bring him souls… not just any souls… He wants the five signers… especially Yusei… and you're going to help me bring him down… you have his heart… now I'm going to break it."

"Well I don't plan on losing!"

"Tough rocks."

Damian drew his cards.

"I play the spell card Forbidden Seal. By paying 500 life points I can take a card from my deck and add it to my hand… Next I shuffle my deck, look at the top five cards, and arrange them in any order I please… Next I activate the spell card Hand Destruction, which forces us both to send two cards in our hands to the graveyard, then we both draw two cards. Finally I activate my face down trap, Backup Soldier!"

**(Forbidden Seal is not a real card)**

"No!"

"Yes, now I get to bring back the three Exodia cards I sent to the graveyard with Exodius' effect… And I'm afraid that's checkmate."

Behind Damian the seal was broken, and Exodia came forth.

"This can't be!"

"It can be, and it is… Exodia, OBLITERATE!!!"

Akiza watched in horror as her Black Rose Dragon was blown away by Exodia's attack, then she herself was hit by the blast. She couldn't get up; all she could do was lie helplessly as Damian approached.

"Yusei will… find you."

"I'm counting on it."

Without a single noise Akiza was engulfed in flame. Damian held his prize up to his face.

"And then there was one."

Yusei came speeding up to Akiza's father's house, he could see the flames.

"No…"

Yusei ran around screaming Akiza's name, he finally found her duel disk sitting by itself in the backyard.

"Akiza… no."

Suddenly the mark of the Dragon's head on Yusei's arm began to glow. He raised his hands to the heavens and screamed.


	8. The Graveyard

"Four of the five signers…. But of course without Yusei Fudo it's not a complete set."

"Rest assured master… The dragon's head will be yours."

"You've done well Damian… But I must ask this final favor of you… Bring me Yusei Fudo… if you succeed… I'll return your soul, and give you your life back."

"You do that, and I'll throw in the officer for no extra charge."

"This is not good."

What Leo said was about the understatement of the century. Akiza's parents had the whole city looking for her, but Yusei knew it wouldn't do any good. For the whole day the others just left him alone.

"I guess Martha was right." said Blister.

"I've known it." said Rally.

"How?"

"He talks in his sleep."

"You know… I'll never forget my old man." said Yanagi "When these things would happen to him, the things he'd say to me."

"What did he say?" asked Leo.

"He'd say, What the hell ya doin'in the bathroom day an' night?! Why don't ya get outta there and give someone else a chance?!"

**(Mel Brooks rocks!)**

"That's helpful… not." said Tanner.

When night fell a brick came flying into the room with a note attached. Yusei was the first person to read it. It was written in blood.

**If you think you have a snowball's chance in Hell of seeing your friends alive again then come to the following address by midnight and come alone.**

**66613 Hellman's Ave**

"Yusei, you're not actually thinking about going are you?" asked Nervin.

"You can't go, he already got the other four signers, that means you're next."

"If I don't we'll never see the others again. I'm not about to let that happen."

They could tell by the look in Yusei's eyes that he had made up his mind.

"Okay, but incase you don't come back… can I have your Stardust Dragon?" asked Tank.

Yusei laughed.

"Not even in your dreams."

"Yusei, promise me you'll rescue Luna."

"Don't worry Leo, I'm coming back with all of them, or I'm not coming back at all."

Before Yusei left he pulled Rally aside.

"If I don't come back, and that's a big if, you can have my runner and Stardust Dragon."

"You go get 'em Yusei!"

Yusei sped through the streets of New Domino city until he found the place with the address that was on the note.

"I should have guessed." he thought.

The place was an old graveyard. Yusei had to jump the fence to get in because the gate was locked. There was an eerie mist about, and it was quiet… too quiet.

"Hello… Is anyone here? Akiza! Akiza! Luna! Crow! Jack!... Anybody? Whoops!"

Yusei tripped over a tree root and found himself face to face with a headstone.

**R. C. Canter**

**The Grass is greener on the other side**

"Cute."

With only a flashlight Yusei searched the cemetery, if his suspicions were right then this was the graveyard where Damian was supposed to be buried. While he was looking he came across a heart shaped headstone.

**Romero & Julie**

**Montulet**

**Lives will come and go, but love never dies**

"I've checked every headstone in this cemetery, and there's no Damian anybody here."

Suddenly the eerie silence was broken by quiet maniacal voice that was chanting.

"Yusei… Yusei… Yusei…"

Yusei followed the sound of the chanting deep into the cemetery, it got foggier and darker as he went on, and the chanting got louder.

"Yusei… Yusei… Yusei… Yusei…"

He started moving faster and faster through the graveyard, until suddenly the chanting just stopped, replaced by an eerie silence. Yusei stopped looked and around; through the fog he saw a small crypt. He looked at the words engraved in the stone above the door.

**Here Lies**

**Damian Dell**

Yusei saw that there was no lock on the old oak door. Without hesitating he grabbed the rusty handle and pulled the door open. He peered inside, but there was nothing but cobwebs, disturbed dust, and an empty coffin.

"MWAH AH HA AH!!!"

Yusei turned around to see that the sky had gotten even darker, thunder started clapping and the wind started to roar. Through the noise of the coming storm he could here a maniacal voice singing.

"Sometimes late at night, you can hear the engine wail, it's a spooky screechy sound, like a chalkboard and a nail; and through the eerie mist; you can almost recognize, the ghost of Damian the Bad, with his fiery red eyes! Whoooooo!!! Can you hear his ghastly laugh? Whoooooo!!! Can you here his runner roar? Run by a Hellfire engine, you know only sticks and stones, the turbo duelist's burning bones are all that remains."

Through the eerie mist Yusei could see Damian approaching on his fiery duel runner. His blood began to boil and the mark on his arm began to glow.

"When I committed suicide my ex girlfriend blamed herself for it, she wished she hadn't abandoned me, but it was a little late for that, all she and my parents could do was give me a place to take a nice long nap. You know it wasn't long after they buried me here that someone graffitied on it, until my parents painted over it the thing read, Here lies Damian Dell, he sucked at life and went straight to Hell."

"Where are my friends!?!"

"Ha… Until I can complete the collection they are trapped in the zone of darkness, it's like a razor thin line between this world and Hell."

"Bring them back or I'll…"

"You'll do what? You may be the dragon's head, but in comparison to me, all that makes you is a very special mouse. And don't worry about your friends, you'll be joining them in Hades soon enough."

"Why are you doing this?"

"To please my master, so he may free me of this dreadful curse so I may have new life."

"What are you talking about? Who is your master?"

Damian smiled.

"You'll find out, sooner than you think."

Damian raised his hands high into the air; he was holding what looked like a candle on a sheep's skull. Yusei looked down and saw there was a huge red pentagram painted into the ground. Then Damian started chanting, as he did this the wind roared louder and lighting flashed fiercer in the stormy night sky.

"Appear o Prince of Darkness, your humble servant beckons. Through time eternal, through endless space, I beg thee… journey to this place!"

The icy wind swept Yusei off his feet. He saw the pentagram catch on fire, the smell of brimstone filled his nostrils, it didn't smell like rotten eggs, it was a hundred times worse. Suddenly the fire died down and Yusei saw there was someone else with him and Damian. Whatever it was it looked like a cross between a man, a snake, and a dragon. His eyes were red and burned even brighter than Damian's, he had razor sharp claws, two great big bat-like wings, and two big horns on the top of his head.

"Master… I thought you'd enjoy watching me defeat Yusei Fudo before I brought him to you." said Damian.

When the creature opened its mouth Yusei saw its great big teeth, the very way its dragonic face moved when it talked was terrifying.

"So this is the great Yusei Fudo…"

"Let me guess… Lucifer?"

His laugh sent a chill down Yusei's spine.

"That's quite a grasp of the obvious… but it will do you no good mortal."

For a moment Yusei just sat there terrified and wondering what he had gotten himself into, then he thought of the others, he thought of Crow, Luna, Jack, and Akiza. He had come here to find a way to save them, and that's what he was going to do.

"Why are you so interested in my soul?"

Lucifer smiled.

"You are one in a million mortal, and I mean that literally. All of the five signers are extraordinary, but you possess a power far greater than the ability to materialize monsters or talk to spirits… You have the power to change the world… It was you who united the Satellite and New Domino City; you alone managed to set the gears in motion to bring an end to that prejudice… It only takes one person to change the world… But those people are one in a million… and to me a soul such as yours is worth a million others."

"If you want my soul so badly then why can't you get it yourself?" asked Yusei.

Lucifer frowned.

"Oh wait I already know the answer, you can't! Your "power" is built on lies, deceit, and illusion, and when a person like me doesn't fall for it you need to send one of your goons like Damian to come and do the dirty work you can't do yourself!"

"Enough talking!" said Damian "Are we going to duel or what?!"

Yusei could see what was going on; Lucifer couldn't have Yusei's soul unless Damian beat him in a duel. This gave him an idea.

"I'll duel only on one condition. If I win this duel then you have to return the others, no funny stuff, and no strings attached!"

"Master, one soul is not worth five, not by a long shot!"

"But without me you won't have all five signers… It's not a complete set… and you Damian don't get anything unless you give him all five signers, and the only way I'm going to agree to this duel is on the condition that my friends are set free should I win!"

Much to Yusei's surprise, Lucifer actually smiled.

"All or nothing… I like it."

"Master you can't be serious!"

"What are you so worried about Damian, as you yourself have stated, with your precious Exodia you're so infinitely powerful."

"Yes but…"

"Then you've got nothing to worry about. Now the two of you, shake hands."

Damian knew it was pointless to argue with the devil. So he shook hands with Yusei and their hands actually began to glow.

"The pact is sealed, the die is cast, duel your hardest gentlemen, because for one of you this duel will be your last…"

**(To be continued)**

**Don Mclean- And as the flames climbed high into the night, to light the sacrificial rite, I saw Satan laughing with delight.**


	9. Hell's Highway

"So… Are we going to duel or not?" asked Damian.

"Patience Damian." said Lucifer "I think we should move the duel to a place more fitting than this old graveyard."

The next thing Yusei knew; he, Damian, and the devil were all falling through a swirling vortex of clouds and fire. The foul stench of death filled Yusei's nostrils and sweat started pouring out of his skin, Damian didn't seem to be enjoying this either, but Lucifer was actually singing.

"I fell in to a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down and the flames went higher, and it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire!"

Yusei didn't know how long he had been falling, when he finally hit the ground he looked up and what he saw filled him with terror and dread. They were on a narrow stone pathway suspended above a sea of lava that stretched as far as the eye could see. The sky was covered with thick dark clouds and lightening flashed in the distance. Down below Yusei could swear he saw body parts struggling in lava, the words cried out were rendered inaudible over the symphony of pain and suffering created by the others… This could only be Hell.

"Gather round everybody, tonight's entertainment is here!" said Lucifer.

Demons of every shape and size either clawed or flew to the place where Yusei, Damian, and Lucifer were.

"Tonight we are going to watch a turbo duel between the famous Yusei Fudo, and our very own Damian! Should Yusei Fudo prove victorious then he and his friends shall be set free to return to their usual boring lives, but if he fails then Damian will be the one to go free while Satellite Shooting Star and his friends stay to rot in the pit below for all eternity!"

All at once the demons started laughing.

"Now let's get this show on the road."

This couldn't be real, it had to be a bad dream, a nightmare, Yusei couldn't actually be about to fight in a turbo duel on Hell's Highway with so much on the line! He tried pinching himself but it didn't work. He saw just how soaked his clothes were with sweat, and now he started coughing, the stench of horrible rotting death in the air was getting to him, the legends about Damian were wrong, it wasn't like the smell of rotten eggs, it was about a hundred times worse.

"Don't like the smell of fire and brimstone kid?" asked Damian "Well too bad, because when I beat you down here you and your friends are going to be permanent residents down here."

At that moment Yusei remembered why he was here in the first place, and his fear was replaced by white hot anger that caused his mark of the dragon to glow.

"What are you waiting for?! Let's get this game on!" he yelled.

Yusei and Damian mounted their runners. The demons on the sidelines chanted in anticipation.

"Fight… fight… fight… fight… fight… fight… fight… fight… fight… fight!!!"

"Since Damian already has home field advantage, Yusei may go first. Gentlemen, start your engines and fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Both Damian and Yusei's life points went to full and the anticipatory chanting of the demons got even louder.

"Duelist's ready? Ready… set… duel for your lives!!!"

Lucifer raised his trident and fired a huge bolt of fire into the air, at that moment Yusei and Damian took off.

"LET'S RIDE!!!"

"As your boss said, the first turn is mine!"

(Yusei Speed: 1)

"I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn!"

"Well if that's the best you can do then it's my turn!"

(Damian speed: 1)

Damian looked at the cards in his hand.

"I guess it's my lucky day, I already have four Exodia pieces in my hand, and I have the means to get the fifth piece, this'll be a snap… I too summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

(Yusei Speed: 2)

"Well this is going to be pretty boring if all we're doing is playing defense cards all day. So I'll place one card face down and summon Speed Warrior in attack mode!"

(ATK: 900 DEF: 400)

"On the turn Speed Warrior is summoned his attack points are doubled!"

(ATK: 1800)

"Speed Warrior, attack his face down monster!"

Speed Warrior was able to destroy Damian's face down monster, but Damian laughed at it.

"Since you destroyed my Deep Diver, I get to pick a monster card from my deck and place it on the top."

Yusei had a pretty good idea what the card was, and he wasn't going to just let Damian draw it.

"It's over Yusei! Now I draw…"

"I don't think so Damian, I activate the trap card Time Seal, this card forces you to skip your draw phase."

"Err… You've only delayed the inevitable Yusei Fudo… Now I'll play…"

At that moment Damian realized that besides the four Exodia cards in his hand, all he had was a speed spell that would prevent him from completing Exodia on his next turn.

"I pass, there's nothing I can do."

Damian was wide open for a direct attack, and Yusei had a good feeling now was a perfect time to play the new speed spell he had added to his deck.

(Yusei Speed: 3)

"I play the speed spell Sabotage! This forces you to discard two random cards in your hand to the graveyard!"

Damian growled in anger as he was forced to send two of his Exodia cards to the graveyard.

"Next I summon Junk Synchron!"

(ATK: 1300 DEF: 500)

"Next I'll tune him with my Speed Warrior, in order to synchro summon Junk Warrior! Let's rev it up!"

(ATK: 2300 DEF: 1300)

"And since you have no monsters on the field, he can attack you directly!"

"Never mind that ****!" said Damian "Here comes Mongo!"

"Mongo? What are you talking about?"

Suddenly the track started to rumble and shake, Yusei thought it was an earthquake or something, then he looked ahead and saw a humongous demon, it looked like Snorlax from Pokemon, only ten times bigger and a hundred times uglier.

"What is that thing?!"

"Mongo is the embodiment of the sin of gluttony; its sole purpose is to eat."

"Well what's it doing in our way?!"

"Just trying to make the duel a bit more interesting." said Lucifer's voice.

"!!! MONGO HUNGRY!!! MONGO WANT EAT!!!"

Mongo stomped towards the oncoming duel runners and reached down for them, Yusei and Damian swerved to the side and sped underneath the creature's legs. Mongo turned around and charged after them.

"Alright lard boy… take this!!!"

Damian fired a blast of Hellfire at one of the pillars that kept the highway standing, causing it to collapse under Mongo's ungodly weight.

"!!!"

"Now as I was saying, Junk Warrior, attack Damian's life points directly! This one's for Akiza, and the rest of my friends!"

Junk Warrior flew over and punched Damian.

(Damian, Life Points: 1700 Speed: 0)

"The first blood is mine!"

Damian growled.

"You'll pay for that Yusei Fudo! I'll destroy your five senses, until all you can feel is the doom in your heart!!!"


	10. Duel for your soul!

"Hmm… Damian seems to be in a bit of a spot…" said Lucifer "Interesting…"

"Master… I thought you wanted him to win." said one of his servants.

"I don't care who wins or loses…" he said smiling "I just don't want to see a knock out in the first round…"

"But if Damian loses… you'll have to give up the souls that Damian has stolen."

"Yes I will… It will be a regrettable loss, but not a critical one… after all… I've got all eternity to make up for it."

(Damian. Speed: 1)

Yusei had forced Damian to discard two of the Exodia cards in his hand, making the piece of Exodia he just drew as well as the two remaining Exodia cards in his hand useless.

"I activate the speed spell Pit Stop! This allows me to shuffle any cards in my hand that I don't want back into my deck; next I draw a new hand."

Damian shuffled all three of his Exodia cards back into his deck.

"Perfect… First I'll place a card face down, and now I'll shuffle all the monster cards in my graveyard back into my deck, so I may special summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord!"

(ATK: ? DEF: 0)

"What the… Why aren't its attack points determined?" asked Yusei.

"It's very simple Fudo… Exodius' attack points depend on the number of normal type monsters in my graveyard. Since I shuffled all the monsters in my graveyard back into my deck to summon him, he doesn't have any attack points, so we'll have to fix that… I activate his special effect, before Exodius attacks I can send one monster card from my hand or deck to the graveyard, and I choose Left Leg of the Forbidden One, so Exodius gains 1000 attack points!"

(ATK: 1000)

"Exodius, attack his face down monster!"

Yusei's face down Sonic Chick was destroyed.

(Yusei, Speed: 4)

"Your Exodius is no match for my Junk Warrior, Attack!"

Junk Warrior flew at Exodius.

"Not so fast mortal, I activate my face down trap, Negate Attack!"

Junk Warrior's attack was blocked.

"It doesn't matter." thought Yusei "Even if Damian sends another monster to his graveyard on his next turn his Exodius will only have 2000 attack points, so my Junk Warrior will still be able to destroy it on my next turn."

Damian drew his card.

(Damian, speed: 2)

"I activate the speed spell Angel Baton, since I have two speed counters I can draw two cards from my deck, so long as I discard one, and the card I'm discarding is Aqua Madoor, a normal monster, so Exodius gains another 1000 attack points."

(ATK: 2000)

"That's not good."

Suddenly Yusei and Damian heard Lucifer's voice.

"You think that's bad; here comes the loop-the-loop!"

The upcoming loop-the-loop on the track was huge, Yusei had no experience at being a stunt rider, but he was certain that to do this without breaking any bones he'd have to be going over ninety miles per hour, so it was time to put the pedal to the metal.

"I can't imagine anyone dueling like this."

Yusei held his breath as he went up the ramp, the next second he was upside down, but in a moment he was back safely on the ground.

"No where were we?" said Damian "Ah yes, I activate Exodius' effect and send Right Leg of the Forbidden One from my deck to my graveyard, giving him 1000 more attack points!"

(ATK: 3000)

"Exodius, destroy Junk Warrior!"

Exodius blew Junk Warrior away with its Lightening-fire flash attack.

(Yusei: 3300)

"You may have knocked me down, but it will take more than that to… ugh!"

Yusei started coughing again, at first he didn't think much of it, but I was starting sound and feel really nasty.

"What's… wrong with me?"

"It seems that the stench of death and brimstone in the air doesn't do wonders for your body, and it's not the only thing."

Yusei realized that his shirt was all soaked with sweat. Being a mere mortal, Hell was starting to take its toll on him. It was like working in a steel mill, only a hundred times worse.

"I have to end this duel before it gets worse…"

(Yusei, Speed: 5)

"I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Is that the best you can do? Very well then… it's my turn!"

(Damian, speed: 3)

"I activate Exodius' effect and send Left Arm of the Forbidden One from my deck to the graveyard, giving my Exodius 1000 more attack points!"

(ATK: 4000)

"Exodius, attack his face down monster!"

Exodius blasted Yusei's monster with its attack, but when the smoke cleared it was still there.

(ATK: 0 DEF: 900)

"What!?!"

"Sorry Damian, but Shield Wing's special effect lets me prevent it from being destroyed in battle twice per turn!"

"You're only delaying the inevitable mortal!"

Suddenly Damian and Yusei heard Lucifer's voice again.

"Roll apparatus!"

"Roll apparatus? What the heck is a roll apparatus?"

"Look ahead."

Yusei looked ahead and saw that there was a hole in the road, the only way to jump the hole was by using a curved ramp which would hurl him through space upside-down over the hole, then drop him back on a similar ramp about thirty feet away on the other side.

"This is nuts!!!"

Yusei's pulse pounded as his runner was launched into the air, but as he flew upside down over the fiery abyss his thoughts weren't for himself, they were for the people he was fighting for, the people who had given him the courage to endure all this insanity. Miraculously in moments the danger was past and he touched down safely on the other side.

(Yusei, speed: 6)

"I pass, there's nothing I can do."

"Then it's my turn!"

(Damian, Speed: 4)

"I'll place one card face down; next I use Exodius' special effect to send Right Arm of the Forbidden One to the graveyard, giving him 1000 more attack points!"

(ATK: 5000)

"Exodius, attack his Shield Wing!"

Exodius attacked, but Yusei's Shield Wing was still there when the smoke cleared.

"It doesn't matter how many attack points Exodius has, Shield Wing's effect prevents it from being destroyed twice per turn!"

"The point wasn't to attack Yusei… The point was to discard. When all five pieces of Exodia are sent to the graveyard by Exodius' effect, then Exodia will be summoned, and your little Shield Wing won't be able to stop it."

"Funny… Years ago you let go of your life just like that, but you just can't let go of Exodia."

"Your point? All my life I was called a loser, a weakling, easy prey, and then when I needed the love of my life the most she had left me. My life sucked! But Exodia is power, I dueled with it and I won with it. I lost that last duel on a technicality, one more turn and I would have drawn the last piece of Exodia and won the duel… I WAS SO CLOSE!!! So close… I tripped at the finish line because somehow I lost control of my runner and crashed into a wall… But that's history… On my next turn Exodius will attack, all five Forbidden cards will be in my graveyard, and Exodia will be complete! I'll be able to make a new life for myself as the greatest duelist on Earth, while you and your friends burn here in Hell! MWAH AH AHA HA AH HA!!!"

**(To be continued)**


	11. Crash and Burn

Exodius' effect wasn't the only thing that was threatening Yusei at the moment, sweat continued to pour down his face stinging his eyes, and the brimstone in the air wasn't doing wonders for his lungs either, now someone was shooting at him and Damian. He looked back and saw what looked like a bunch of skeleton cowboys atop demonic horses chasing after the two of them.

"Who the heck are they?"

"The riders."

"The riders?"

"The Ghost Riders, haven't you ever heard the song?" said Damian "They're a group of cowboys who are cursed to ride forever trying to catch the devil's herd, but apparently today he has them trying to catch us. From left to right; Billy the Kid, Frank and Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, the Tall Texan, News Carver, Kid Curry, Texas Jack, Texas Tom, Black Jack, and Spade."

"And how are we supposed to get away from them?"

"The answer is right up there."

Damian was pointing at a huge ramp up ahead. There was a hole in the ground up ahead that had to be over a hundred feet long, to make maters worse there was a huge spinning blade down in the hole. Another outrageous obstacle, but Yusei's concerns weren't for his own safety, he was determined that he would either get out of this place with Akiza and the others or not at all. As he sped down the ramp and was launched into the air he didn't think about what would happen if he fell, he just thought about the people he was fighting for. Within moments he had landed safely on the other side.

"Now that those riders are out of the way it's my turn!"

Yusei knew he had to pull a winner out of his deck right now, or Damian would attack with Exodius on his next turn, then he would have everything he needed to summon Exodia. He couldn't let that happen, not with everything that was on the line.

(Yusei, Speed: 7)

"It's go time… First I activate the speed spell Vision Wind, this let's me special summon a level 2 or lower monster from my graveyard, and I choose Speed Warrior!"

(ATK: 900 DEF: 400)

"Next I summon Road Synchron!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 800)

"Now I'll tune him with Shield Wing and Speed Warrior to synchro summon Road Warrior! Let's rev it up!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 1500)

"Why did you bother bringing him out? In case you haven't noticed my Exodius has 5000 attack points."

"Which is why I activate the speed spell Crash and Burn!"

"What?!"

"When my speed counter is at seven or higher I can use this speed spell to destroy one monster on your side of the field, then your life points take damage equal to that monster's level times 100!"

Just like that Exodius was destroyed.

(Damian, Life Points: 700 Speed: 3)

"Road Warrior, attack his life points directly and end this duel!"

Road Warrior was about to make contact, when suddenly…

"I don't think so mortal; I activate the trap card Draining Shield, now not only is your attack negated, but I regain life points equal to that monster's attack points."

(Damian: 3700)

"In that case I'll end my turn by using Road Warrior's special effect to special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog in defense mode."

(ATK: 800 DEF: 800)

"But I doubt it really matters, you've used Exodius to send four of your precious Exodia cards to the graveyard, and when I destroyed Exodius it was removed from play, so now you have no way of summoning Exodia."

Much to Yusei's surprise Damian was laughing.

"You may be the best turbo duelist in the realm of mortals Yusei Fudo, but do you really think you can stop me with one card? I'm not some amateur; I've always got a backup plan."

(Damian, speed: 4)

"I'll place one card face down, and summon a monster in defense mode. Your turn."

(Yusei, speed: 8)

Yusei had another nasty cough as he drew his card.

"Keep it together Yusei… After this… just one more turn."

Yusei looked at the cards in his hand.

"I activate Road Warrior's effect to special summon Nitro Synchron from my deck!"

(ATK: 300 DEF: 100)

"Next I'll normal summon Level Warrior!"

(ATK: 300 DEF: 600)

"Now I'll tune my Nitro Synchron with my Quillbolt Hedgehog and Level Warrior to synchro summon Nitro Warrior! Let's rev it up!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 1800)

"Nitro Warrior… cough… ugh… attack… ugh… attack his face down monster!"

Nitro Warrior shot out at Damian's card and pounded it.

"What!?! Why did he put Exodia's head on the field? No matter… Exodia can only be summoned from the graveyard when all five pieces are sent there by Exodius' effect, and since he was removed from the field he was automatically removed from play, so unless Damian has a Return from the Different Dimension trap in his deck he isn't coming back."

Without Exodia's head protecting him Damian was wide open.

"Road Warrior… agh… ugh… attack… neyagh! Attack Damian directly!"

Road Warrior launched himself at Damian.

"Did you forget about the trap card I just laid face down? It's Defense Draw, and this allows me to negate the damage I would take from your monster's attack, and I get to draw a card."

(Damian, speed: 5)

"Perfect… I activate the speed spell, Forbidden Magic!"

"What?! I've never seen that card before! What is that?!"

"Forbidden Magic lets me use it as any spell card that I couldn't normally use in a turbo duel, any spell card I want, and the card I choose is Contract with Exodia! Since all five Forbidden One cards are in my graveyard I can now special summon the mighty Exodia Necross!!!"

**(Start playing the song "Fateful Confrontation" from "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus")**

Down below the highway the sea of lava in which the souls of the damned were drowning in agony started to ripple and bubble, then all of a sudden a huge black hand emerged out of it.

"!!!"

Exodia Necross ripped and tore its way out of the lava and climbed onto the highway.

(ATK: 1800 DEF: 0)

When Exodia Necross moved it caused the whole highway to shake.

"Yes Yusei Fudo… It's very much alive… See my bond with Exodia is so strong that when I decided to end my own life I brought him down to Hell with me."

"Your monster doesn't scare me Damian, it may look like Exodia but… yuhagh! Erhagh! Uhhugh! It only has 1800 attack points."

"I know, which is why I'm playing this, the speed spell Hidden Power! This permanently doubles Exodia Necross' attack points!"

(ATK: 3600)

"Exodia Necross, attack and destroy his Road Warrior!"

As Exodia Necross prepared to attack, Yusei saw its eyes flash, and he heard it speak in a loud deep booming voice.

"YEEESSSS MAAASSSSTTTTTEEEERRR!!!"

Yusei's Road Warrior never had a chance.

(Yusei: 2700)

"You may have knocked me down but… Auuughh! Wuhaargh! Yuuugh!"

"Well if my Exodia Necross doesn't get you, I think the fire and brimstone will! MWAH HA AH AHA HA!!!"


	12. The Forbidden Ritual of Revival

"It would seem that poor Yusei can't take the heat." said Lucifer.

"Master, how is it possible that a mere mortal can last this long in your domain?" asked one of the demons "He looks like he's ready to pass out."

"He's physically weakened my servant… and his strength his being zapped with every passing moment, but his mind and his spirit are still strong… He's willing to brave all Hell, literally, to save his friends and the woman he loves. He intends to stick this out to the bitter end, to use every last bit of his strength and every last card in his deck until there is absolutely nothing left. Like I said earlier, he's one in a million, and his soul will indeed make a priceless addition to my collection…"

(Yusei, Speed: 9)

With nine speed counters Yusei was flying down Hell's highway, normally he loved the feeling of going real fast on his runner, but right now the feeling was just mocking him.

"Racing for my grave… already dead…" he thought "But I… I can't rest… I can't give in… not with everything that's on the line… No rest for the wicked… or those who dare deal with them… And while I'm struggling to remain conscious the devil and his demons are watching, enjoying the spectacle… ready to cut me off at my grave."

Yusei looked at the cards in his hand, he was relieved to see he had a speed spell he could use, now he could end what was hopefully the final threat Damian's deck had to offer.

"I… I play…. Muhagh! I play… Angel's Baton! This let's me draw two cards as long as I discard one… Now Nitro Warrior's effect activates… Because… because… I played a speed spell, he gains one thousand attack points."

(ATK: 3800)

"Nitro Warrior, attack his Exodia Necross!"

Nitro Warrior launched itself at Exodia Necross, but the creature's skin wasn't even scratched.

(Damian: 3500)

"What?! My… My Nitro Warrior had more attack points than Exodia Necross… so why wasn't it… destroyed?"

"HA AH! All this fire and brimstone must've cooked your head. My Exodia Necross can't be destroyed in battle, and it can't be destroyed by spell or trap cards either."

"But… now…. My Nitro Warrior loses the one thousand attack points it gained…"

(ATK: 2800)

"And now it's my turn."

(Damian, Speed: 6)

"During my standby phase Exodia Necross gains 500 attack points."

(ATK: 4100)

"And now it's time to catch up with you. I activate Hellfire Acceleration, normally I'd have to discard my entire hand to use this card, but as you can see I have no cards in my hand, so I don't have to discard any cards. Now not only do I get to draw two cards during my draw phases, but I gain two speed counters every turn! Now Exodia Necross, attack and destroy his Nitro Warrior!"

Exodia Necross crushed Nitro Warrior beneath its fist.

(Yusei, Life Points: 1400 Speed Counters: 8)

Yusei's runner started to spin out, he managed to keep it in control, but just barely. It was taking every bit of his willpower just to hold on.

(Yusei, Speed: 9)

"Hyper Synchron… But it doesn't matter… That thing has over 4000 attack points, not even my Stardust Dragon could take it… I don't know how I can win this… no… I can't give up… Akiza and all the others are counting on me."

Yusei thought… How could he win this duel? He felt like he was fighting Kalin's Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu again… Exodia Necross was even invulnerable to his speed spells and trap cards… But then he noticed something, even though Exodia Necross wasn't destroyed by Nitro Warrior he was still able to attack it and cause Damian to lose life points, this gave Yusei an idea, and he didn't need to beat Exodia Necross at all, after all there's more than one way to win a duel, all he had to do was stall for time… that is… if his body didn't give out before then.

"I'll place one card face down… and summon a monster… in defense mode…"

"Is that all?" asked Damian "Well then it's your funeral!"

(Damian, speed: 8)

"Since it's my standby phase Exodia Necross gains 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 4600)

"Now Exodia Necross, attack his face down monster!"

Exodia Necross hurled its fist at Yusei's monster.

"Not so fast! I activate my face down trap, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

"What!?!"

Damian couldn't believe it, but his mighty Exodia Necross had been stopped by a collection of junk.

"You just said your Exodia Necross couldn't be destroyed by trap cards, but apparently I can still block its attacks with them. And instead of going to my graveyard Scrap-Iron Scarecrow is set facedown on the field again, so I'll be able to use it again on my next turn."

"I guess I have no choice… I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Then it's my… aaaaghhh! Turn…"

(Yusei, speed: 10)

Yusei's insides felt like they were on fire, he ordered himself to ignore it.

"I play one card face down… And end my turn."

"Good, now I can start ending you!"

(Damian, speed: 10)

"So we're finally caught up, and since it's my turn again Exodia Necross gains another 500 attack points."

(ATK: 5100)

"It doesn't… ugh… matter… I'll just block its attack again with Scrap-Iron Scarecrow."

"MWAH AHAH HA AH HA AH HA AH!!! Yusei Fudo, have you forgotten who you're talking to? Do you really think you can stop me with one card? Well then allow me to erase all hope you have of that happening! I activate the trap card, THE FORBIDDEN RITUAL OF REVIVAL!!!"

"The… what?!"

"The Forbidden Ritual of Revival… and once activated this trap card cannot be destroyed."

"Dare I ask… What does it do?"

"Well I can only activate this card when Exodia Necross is on the field, once per turn I can take one monster in my graveyard with The Forbidden One in its name and remove it from play, and I choose Left Leg of the Forbidden One!"

Just like that Damian's card was removed from play.

"Normally Exodia Necross would be destroyed right now, but The Forbidden Ritual of Revival lets him stick around for awhile, and that's not the only thing."

Yusei noticed that Exodia Necross' left leg was changing color, it was going from its regular black to the tannish gold color that Exodia usually was.

"Confused? Well you see Yusei, Exodia Necross is just an undead Exodia, a ghost of his true potential… But with the Forbidden Ritual of Revival I can restore my mighty beast to his former glory! When all five pieces of Exodia are removed from play by the effect of the Forbidden Ritual of Revival Exodia will be complete and given new life! Just as I will when I defeat you with him… You have four more turns to prepare for damnation… Provided you can last that long."

Yusei's strategy was shot, even with Hellfire Acceleration in play Damian wouldn't run out of cards in his deck in just four turns. Yusei wasn't even sure if he could last that long. He was waterlogged with sweat and suffering from dehydration, it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe, the heat was getting more intense, and his heart pounded like it was trying to jump out of him.

"No… I still have… four turns… to find… a way."

(Yusei, speed: 11)

"I… summon… a monster… in defense mode."

"It doesn't matter, no defense will save you when Exodia is complete!"

(Damian, speed: 12)

"Yeehaw! I'm maxed out! Now my Exodia Necross gets another 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 5600)

"Now I'll use the Forbidden Ritual of Revival's effect to remove Right Leg of the Forbidden One from play!"

Exodia Necross' right leg started to change color.

"It's… my… turn…"

(Yusei, speed: 12)

"I… play… a… facedown."

"Look at yourself, you look like a dog waiting to be put out of its misery! But don't worry mortal, it will all be over soon, and believe me, this is nothing compared to what awaits you and your friends in this God forsaken place! Now it's my turn, so Exodia Necross gains another 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 6100)

"Now I'll use the Forbidden Ritual of Revival to remove Left Arm of the Forbidden One from play!"

Yusei had to wipe away the perspiration from his eyes to see Exodia Necross' arm change color.

"No… must go on…"

Yusei drew his card.

"I… I… pass."

"That's it? Well then it's your funeral! It's my turn again so Exodia Necross gains another 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 6600)

"Now I'll use the Forbidden Ritual of Revival to remove Right Arm of the Forbidden One from play!"

Yusei was barely holding onto his runner. He was hunched over on the front and didn't see Exodia Necross' final limb change color.

"And just to show you how hopeless it is I'll activate these two speed spells, first I play this, Total Paralysis! This causes you to lose all the speed counters you have, and it prevents you from gaining any more!"

(Yusei, speed: 0)

Yusei's runner started falling far behind Damian and his Exodia Necross.

"Now I activate my second Hidden Power, which I will use to double Exodia Necross' attack points again!"

(ATK: 13200)

Exodia Necross let out a triumphant roar as its attack points increased.

"WALLOW IN DISPAIR AND HOPELESSNESS! YOU ARE POWERLESS IN THE FACE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DUELIST! POWERLESS!!!"

"My favorite part of the game…" said Lucifer smiling "Sudden death…"


	13. Mighty Blast of Rage!

"Feel so bad... I want to die… and he's right in front of me… ready and willing to grant my wish."

Hell had just about finished Yusei Fudo, if Damian didn't finish him off on his next turn then a heatstroke, dehydration, or sulfur poisoning would. It seemed utterly hopeless. Earlier this evening he had agreed to a turbo duel on Hell's highway with the intention of saving his friends from eternal damnation, but he was putting his own soul on the line to do it. He didn't know what was more terrifying; the concept of being in life threatening conditions, or the fact that on his next turn Damian would complete Exodia. As his runner moved slower and slower down the road all of Hell's demons started laughing at him.

"I've no speed counters, no means of destroying that trap card, and there's nothing in my deck that can take on that hulking horror of a monster…"

Suddenly Yusei heard Lucifer's voice.

"What's wrong now Yusei? You look so sad. Don't worry, losing your soul doesn't feel that bad… Your little friends have told me so…"

Yusei's vision was blurred, but the devil's words reminded him of why he was here in the first place. He looked over the edge of the highway and into the fiery pit below; there were millions of deformed souls warped beyond recognition down there, experiencing torments he didn't want to imagine.

"No… I will not let that be Akiza… I WON'T!!!"

"So… The boy wants to go out like a man…" said one of Lucifer's lieutenants "You were right master; his soul is a perfect prize."

Yusei knew he was probably going to die even if he finished this duel, but that didn't matter to him, all that mattered was that Akiza and the others would be free. He called on every last bit of strength and willpower within him to finish the duel, he was either going to save his friends or die trying.

"It's… my… turn…"

Yusei had to think, Damian had more life points, more speed counters, a hulking big monster with over thirteen thousand attack points, and to top it all off a trap card that would summon Exodia on his next turn. Yusei had to stop Damian from summoning Exodia, but he said the ritual couldn't be stopped. Just then Yusei remembered that in order for The Forbidden Ritual of Revival to work Damian needed to have Exodia Necross on the field, so Yusei needed to find a way to destroy it.

"But how? Not only does it have 13200 attack points, but it's also invulnerable to spells and traps… Wait a minute… only spells and traps? Maybe I can still use..."

Unfortunately Yusei didn't have the card in his hand. He'd have to draw for it.

"Hello God… It's Yusei Fudo… I don't know if you can hear me… or if you even care… but… my friends are on the line… I don't care what happens to me… please… just let me draw the card I need to win this duel…"

Yusei drew his card… when he looked at it he could almost hear a familiar voice speaking to him.

"Go Yusei!"

"It's go time… Alright Damian, I switch my two face down monsters to attack mode! Hyper Synchron and Fortress Warrior!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 800)

(ATK: 600 DEF: 1200)

"Since I have a tuner monster on my field I can special summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from my graveyard!"

(ATK: 800 DEF: 800)

"Next I'll activate the Graceful Revival trap card, with this I can special summon one monster from my graveyard, as long as it's level 2 or lower, and I choose Speed Warrior!"

(ATK: 900 DEF: 400)

"Now I'll tune my Hyper Synchron with my Quillbolt Hedgehog and Speed Warrior to synchro summon Stardust Dragon! Let's rev it up one last time!"

(ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000)

"And since I summoned him with Hyper Synchron, he gets an 800 point attack boost."

(ATK: 3300)

"Plus I activate my face down trap, Synchro Strike! With this Stardust Dragon gains an additional 500 attack points for every monster that I used to synchro summon it!"

(ATK: 4800)

"Impressive Yusei, but I'm afraid it's too little too late. Your dragon's attack power doesn't even come close to that of my Exodia Necross."

"Who said anything about attacking with Stardust Dragon? What I'm attacking with is Fortress Warrior!"

"I know all about your little rock, once per turn you can keep it from being destroyed in battle, or you can let it be destroyed and take no damage, big deal!"

"Oh it's a very big deal, and he's not attacking alone… he's gonna have a little help… from Turbo Booster!"

(ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"By offering this monster as a tribute I can destroy one of your monsters that engages one of mine in a battle this turn. You said your Exodia Necross couldn't be destroyed in battle or by the effects of spell or traps cards, but you never said anything about monster effects!"

"What!?! This can't be!!!"

"It can be and it is… Now Turbo Booster, launch Fortress Warrior!!!"

Fortress Warrior was sent flying at Exodia Necross, when it collided with the monster nothing happened at first, but the boost it got from Turbo Booster forced it through the behemoth's chest, leaving a great big hole in it. For a moment Exodia Necross just stood there motionless, then it gave out a loud wail of pain and collapsed into the lava.

"Your Exodia Necross is no longer on the field so you can no longer use the Forbidden Ritual of Revival, and since you already used it to remove four Forbidden One cards from play, you can no longer summon Exodia."

"NO!!! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!" exclaimed Damian "HOW COULD YOU!?! YOU COULDN'T!!! MASTER, YOU SAID THAT WITH THE CARDS YOU GAVE ME MY DECK WOULD BE UNSTOPABLE!!!"

"Oops, had my fingers crossed." said Lucifer.

"And now… for the grand finale..." said Yusei "Stardust Dragon… Show him how we do things in the satellite! This one's for Akiza!!!"

The force of Stardust Dragon's attack sent Damian flying from his duel runner and plummeting into the fiery pit below.

"NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

(Damian: 0)

"I did it… I… AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!! My… My heart…"

Yusei fell off his runner and onto the highway's stone road. He clutched the place where his heart was. At that moment everything just started shutting down, and he knew it was over. As his vision faded he saw Akiza's face smiling down at him.

"Goodbye… I love you…" he said.

"Poor Damian." said Lucifer smiling as he looked over the edge where moments ago Damian had fallen into the pit.

"You wouldn't have let him go even if he had won?" asked one of his lieutenants.

"No, I've never once given up that which I have taken… This was all engineered to see if Yusei Fudo would make a fine addition to my collection." he said standing over Yusei's body "He truly has proven himself to be the greatest duelist in the world. He had the strength to overcome all Hell in order to save his friends… now he is too weak to resist me… and now he'll never leave."

Lucifer reached out to take Yusei's soul, when suddenly there was a blinding flash of light. All the demons screamed in agony as they tried to shield their eyes.

"LUCIFER!!!"

"That voice…"

When the light faded there where four people standing a few feet away from him, all of them had huge eagle like wings, three of them were wearing robes, and one of them was dressed head to toe in golden armor and wielding an elaborate sword.

"Michael… Gabriel… Uriel… Raphael" he hissed "What the Hell are you doing here?"

Lucifer knew very well why they were here. Gabriel had obviously come to deliver a message, Michael and the others had obviously been sent to make sure he listened.

"Lucifer…" said Gabriel "This is a good and pure soul. By command of our lord on high, he is not to be taken."

"I'll take what I want!"

"This abomination will not come to pass!" said Michael.

Uriel raised his hand and there was another flash of light, while Lucifer and his demons were blinded Raphael rushed over and picked up Yusei's body.

"You dare…"

"The only reason we did not interfere earlier is because the boy came here of his own volition. Now you will release him and the others."

"I'll release his friends as per the agreement." said Lucifer "But I never said I'd allow him to return to the world of men, so I don't have to do anything."

"But you will nonetheless." said Gabriel "And he shall enter neither kingdom today. The lord still has plans for him."

"You know the law as well as I do." growled Lucifer "No mortal may enter my realm and return to tell of it."

"He won't." said Michael "He will have no recollection of this place or anything that has taken part here whatsoever. Now you can either release him and the others, or I have my orders to strip you of your kingdom."

Lucifer clenched his fists together in rage.

"Fine… take him and the others… now get out of my domain."

"With pleasure." said Michael.

With another flash of light they were gone.

**(To be concluded)**


	14. Black Rose and Shooting Star

"Ugh… Where am I, how did I get here?"

Akiza woke up and found that she and the others were in a graveyard.

"Jack, Crow, Luna! Where did you guys come from?"

"Last thing I remember, Leo and I were dueling... someone" said Luna.

"Uh, what are we doing here?" asked Crow.

"What are you doing here, what about me?" said Trudge.

"Ugggghhhhh…"

"What the… Yusei?"

Yusei was lying flat on the ground next to his runner.

"Yusei… Yusei!"

Yusei didn't respond.

"What's wrong with him?!" asked Akiza.

One of them checked Yusei's pulse and temperature.

"Oh my god… someone call an ambulance!"

Unfortunately no one had a phone.

"Wait a minute… Jack, do you think you can reach someone on Yusei's runner?"

"I'll see if I can reach Mina. In the meantime does anyone here know how to do CPR?"

"I do." said Trudge.

"Then do it!"

"Are you crazy?! I wouldn't touch his mouth if **my **life depended on it!"

"I'll do it!" said Akiza "Just tell me what to do!"

While Trudge instructed Akiza what to do Jack tried to get a hold of Mina.

"Mina… Mina, are you there?"

"Jack? Is that you?!"

"Will you shut up and listen to me?! We're in a graveyard somewhere, Yusei's dying of heatstroke or something and we need an ambulance now! Trace this signal or something but we need that ambulance now! Now goddammit now!!!"

"Come on Yusei! Don't you dare die on me!" thought Akiza as she tried her best to breathe life into him.

Eventually the ambulance arrived along with several other cars; they left for the hospital in moments.

"Why didn't you heal him completely?" asked Uriel.

"I cured his sulfur poisoning and dehydration." said Raphael "But I was told to leave him in a condition that would require medical attention."

"The boy and the girl both love each other." said Gabriel "But they're both too scared to admit it. The Lord knows that after this they won't be able to hide it any longer."

"All this over that?"

"Our Lord works in mysterious ways." said Michael "And he loves love."

When they made it to the hospital Yusei was rushed to the emergency room. While the others sat outside and waited more people arrived. When Leo arrived Luna rushed over and gave him a hug, Akiza's parents were glad to see that she was okay, and Trudge was jealous that Mina and Carly were fighting over Jack.

"What happened to Yusei?" asked Leo.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember was that you and I got blasted by Exodia, and suddenly we find ourselves lying in a graveyard."

"I don't understand how Yusei could have had a heatstroke." said Akiza's father "It's not that hot out."

"That's not all." said Crow "You should've smelled his clothes, peeyeew, they stank to high heaven."

It took awhile, but eventually the doctor told them that Yusei was going to be fine. When it was becoming clear that he wasn't going to wake up in the near future they started to go, but Akiza insisted on staying with him.

"Do you think there's something going on between them?" asked Carly "I mean, Black Rose and Satellite Shooting Star, what a scoop!"

Yusei woke up late in the morning.

"Akiza?... Am I alive? Or did I die and go to Heaven?" he asked.

"You're alive." said Akiza relieved "But don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"What'd I do?"

"You had a heatstroke and were clinically dead for a couple minutes, and I had to do CPR to save you. What exactly happened to you?"

"I dunno… Last thing I remember I was… going to the graveyard… to duel Damian to save you and… where are the others?"

"They're fine. Jack, Luna, and Crow were all there in the graveyard when I woke up."

"You don't remember anything either?"

"It doesn't matter… All that matters is you're alive."

"Where's my runner?"

"The boys are cleaning it. When we found you last night both you and your runner smelled like hell."

"Remind me to thank Rally for the Turbo Booster card… It really saved our butts."

"I thought you couldn't remember anything."

"I remember the duel, but I can't remember where I was, or what happened afterwards. But I do remember that I nearly died trying to save you."

"You did that for me?"

Yusei blushed.

"Yeah… you know… you and the others, but mostly you... I mean…"

Before Yusei could finish Akiza's lips were on his.

"Was that CPR again?" he joked.

"No." she said smiling "That was a kiss."

**(The End)**

**And that makes 15 fanfictions!**


End file.
